I Didn't Want You To See Me Like This (CSIII Short Stories)
by Yurianna Aquierl Hoffenburg
Summary: 1st story: during CSIII. 2nd story: post-CSII and pre-CSIII. Contains two short stories: Friendly Fire and Arrangement. Friendly Fire - Machias works up the courage to ask Fie for a duel. Minor spoilers such as where Machias works and his S-Craft. Arrangement - *Warning: Major spoilers from CSIII Final Chapter.* Emma meets someone she wasn't expecting in a certain place.
1. Friendly Fire

**I Didn't Want You to See Me Like This - Short Stories (from Sen III)**

 **For Sen no Kiseki III**

 **1\. Friendly Fire**

Machias breathed a sigh of relief. In spite of his busy work schedule, he had worked hard to vastly improve his sharpshooting skills over the course of several months. While his new reality now consisted of having a full-time career and relocating from place to place, he found himself with free time at the moment. He wondered if his skills were enough to rival that of Fie's...Machias furrowed his eyes in frustration. The thought that no matter how much he improved, he would probably never be able to reach Fie's level nagged at him unexpectedly, soured his mood.

 _Arrgh! What is wrong with me?!_ Machias chided himself. He had made rivals of other students during this time at Thors: There was Jusis, his near eternal rival, Emma, his rival in academics and even Stephen of the Thors Lower Class Chess Club. The fact that he always felt that no matter how hard he worked or studied, he would never be recognized as the best of the best for his efforts had always irked him. _Perhaps_ , he thought, _that was the reason he partly understood how Rean felt about his own shortcomings in the past._

 _Ring, ring._

Machias glanced at his ARCUS II. _Just my luck._ Recognizing the caller, he picked up his orbment device.

"Yo, glasses! I heard from Elliot that you're back in town."

"W-what the, Fie-?! I mean, y-yeah, I'm back. How have you been?" he replied, hoping his voice wouldn't betray his emotions.

"I just happened to have some free time myself," she stated. "...Besides, I'm so sick of filing paperwork already. Sara's been nagging me to contact the rest of you, but it everyone else has been too busy to hang out."

"You're trying to escape from your work, aren't you?" Machias narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"So, you wanna hang out and do something outside?" Fie asked. "We both know how much you _love_ staying indoors."

"Of course I'd love to hang out with-I-I have a life, too!" Machias scolded her.

"Anyway, did you hear about that new bakery opening in Heimdallr? Lafite, was it?"

"A bakery, Fie? You want me to go to bakery w-with you?" _...of all the places she could choose, a bakery...!?_

"You are such a killjoy, Machias Regnitz. I hear they sell amazing coffee, and they're featuring vanilla cream-filled Mishy buns."

"There's no way any bakery from Heimdallr could ever compete with the cafes in Crossbell City."

"Pretty pleeease," Fie pleaded. "C'mon, we haven't hung out since forever, you know."

He sighed. "Fine, have it your way. Although..." he paused. _How do I go about asking her to duel me?_

"Although?...Wait. Lemme guess, you're not going to order anything, are you?"

"W-well, since you told me about the coffee, I-I guess I could try that, hahaha." _Oh, crap. Nice going, you idiot._

"You're sure acting strange. What's wrong?"

"Look Fie, I-I..."

"...Machias, maybe calling you at this time wasn't a great idea."

"W-wait, Fie! I-I just w-wanted to challenge you to a duel! D-do you accept?"

"You? Challenge me? This sure wasn't what I was expecting. I accept, on two conditions. We're going to need the same amount of targets to choose from, and two, the loser pays for the winner? How about it?"

Machias' heart sank. _What have I done to myself?!_ "Done! It's time to show you what I'm truly capable of!"

It took some time for the two to meet up and set up their targets outside of Heimdallr on the field but once everything was finished, Fie was the first to go. Whirling her twin gunswords, she fired rapidly at blinding speed, neatly demolishing a long row of ceramic vases in a matter of seconds. Dusting her hands off, Fie looked smugly at her record when it was time for Machias to go.

 _Just watch me, Fie._ He pulled out his shotgun and shot three of the vases. Fie yawned. "Not bad, Regnitz."

"I'm haven't finished, yet!" Machias swapped out his shotgun for a pair of two twin pistols. He barraged the rest of the vases with bullets, and they shattered in mere moments.

Fie cocked her head. "That's quite impressive, honestly. I didn't think you had it in you to somersault like that. Besides...did you call that 'Justice Bullet'?* Woooow. What a neeeerd!" she laughed.

"Well, looks like I win then," she replied cheerfully. "Oh, and don't forget about your ammo, doofus," she patted him on the head. "It looks like you've used it all."

 _I feel so dead inside,_ Machias despaired. _All that work to impress a girl for nothing._

He felt a sudden tug at his hand. It felt warm. "You promised to pay for me, Machias! C'mon. Let's go go go!" Fie smiled.

Leaving the shooting range, they both ran towards the Crimson Capital, hand in hand.


	2. Arrangement

**I Didn't Want You to See Me Like This - Short Stories (from Sen III)**

 **For Sen no Kiseki III**

 **Warning: This story contains major spoilers for CSIII.**

Author's note: I tend to explore time gaps between in-game events as an author, so in order for this scene to make sense, I couldn't leave such details out. Please keep this in mind. 

**2\. Arrangement**

Outside of Heimdallr's Grand Cathedral in the Sankt district, Emma sat near the fountain with Celine by her side. In accordance to the Elder's wishes, she had agreed to come to the cathedral during the evening for an important meeting as the main representative of the Hexen clan, accompanied by her familiar Celine. Though she knew how important the meeting was, in light of current circumstances, she couldn't help but feel increasingly anxious about it.

 _What kind of person would the other main representative be_? Emma thought. _Who might they be possibly be? Would they be a man or a woman? What if they're the same age as me? I wonder what kind of person would they be and what would they think of me as the clan's main representative. And why Heimdallr Grand Cathedral?_

Having told Celine about her misgivings, Emma's familiar had assured her that no matter who she ended up meeting, she would support Emma and stand up for her if need be.

"You're overthinking things again," she meowed. "Even if they end up choosing some weirdo to represent them this time, it's not like I won't be there to see what's happening. There wasn't any issues as far as I could tell when we did this in the past."

"I hope so. Even so, things might be different this time. I don't think I've ever come across anyone who was associated with them," Emma replied. _...aside from Scarlet of the Imperial Liberation Front._

"Hmph. We'll just have to hope for the best. Just be yourself and you'll be fine," Celine advised her. "I think it's almost about time we find out who we're working with."

Emma nodded. She could hardly see anyone else walking around in the district, as most of the citizens would be at home at this hour. Taking a deep breath, she motioned Celine to follow her to the steps of the cathedral's door. Grabbing the handle, she gently pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The interior of Heimdallr's Grand Cathedral was as stunning as she first stepped inside, Emma recalled. It all seemed so long ago, coming here with Alisa, Jusis, and Gaius as a Thors student of Class VII. As much as she missed those days, Emma knew that her duty to the Hexen clan came first.

She felt her heart skip a beat when she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

"Emma. I thought I'd never see you again."

She recognized that voice anywhere. Before she knew it, Emma found herself embracing Gaius, who almost ran towards her from where the altar stood.

"Gaius, I'm so glad to see you." Emma replied. "I-and the rest of us were worried something might have happened to you after we lost contact with you since these past few months. Now after meeting you here...I don't know what to say anymore."

He looked at her with a pained expression on his face. "I always wanted to tell you what happened, but it's been difficult for me to do so during these past few months. I was afraid of what you, and the rest of Class VII would think of me. And..." She could tell he was tearing up as he spoke. "...it's not that I didn't want to tell you, but I couldn't..." he trailed off, looking extremely distressed.

"I...felt the same way too during our time at Thors. I was so scared that everyone would see me differently once they knew who I was. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have found the courage to speak up about it," she admitted. Both the Highlands and Lohengrin Castle came to mind. "So, please," she gently took hold of his hands, "you don't have to be afraid of what I and anyone else would think."

"To tell you the truth, I wouldn't be here today if my mentor hadn't saved me. My homeland was caught in the crossfire between Erebonia and Calvard not too long ago..." Gaius smiled bitterly. "I never imagined I'd be forced to defend my birthplace from both the Imperial Army and the Calvardian Army. They didn't honour the promise Emperor Dreichels swore to us after we aided him in the War of the Lions. It meant nothing to them."

Emma let out a faint gasp.

"Both my mentor, Father Barkhorn, and I fought as bravely as we could, but we were both gravely injured in the war. I was about to give up when my mentor transferred the power of his Stigma to me."

"His Stigma?" Emma was shocked.

"Yes, that's the only reason I'm still alive." he answered softly. "I didn't realize my mentor was one of the Dominion until that day."

"I see...and what of your family?" she asked.

"I was the only one left on the battlefield." He wanted to bury his head in his hands.

Emma stood silent for a moment. _What should I do?_ "I'm so sorry to hear that, I truly am. I didn't know you went though this much. To be honest, I felt so scared when you told me you almost died, I..."

"Ahem," interrupted a sleek, feline voice. "Aren't we supposed to have a meeting now?! Honestly, you two. Will you both stop clinging to each other for dear life and do this properly?!"

"Nonsense. Ahh, how wonderful it is to be young!~" exclaimed a warm, lighthearted voice from the direction of the altar. "I see you finally worked up the courage to tell her about your feelings after all this time. How adorable.~"

"My feelings?" Gaius cocked his head to one side, looking confused.

"Instructor Thomas? What are you doing he-"

"Emma, he's part of the Gralsritter too," Celine pointed out. "What did I say about the Church having some weirdo in their ranks!?"

"Ahh, such cruelty! After everything I did just to let you into the Thors Academy library three years ago!" Thomas responded, aghast. "Miss Millstein, your familiar has quite the personality, I'd say."

"Heyyyy! Don't just ignore me-!" Celine's protest was soon forgotten once she spotted a large-sized fish on a plate nearby, which wasn't there before. Unable to stop herself, she bounded towards the plate eagerly.

"Why, isn't it my favourite former A+ student~? It's a pleasure to re-introduce myself to you, granddaughter of Roselia. Thomas Lysander, Vice Chief and the Second Dominion."

Thomas Lysander began to walk towards the area where both Emma and Gaius were standing together.

"Y-you've met my grandmother, uhh...Sir?"

"Of course we've met, my dear granddaughter. My, my, I didn't expect you to be so affectionate with a young man of the Church. Perhaps you could introduce him to me?"

Emma felt her face beginning to blush. "Grandmother? ...Have you been here this whole time?" _Please don't tell me what I think she'll do next._

Roselia, the Elder of the Hexen Clan, appeared beside where Thomas was standing. Upon seeing Gaius, Roselia smiled. "Roselia Millstein of the Hexen clan, but you can call me Rose~. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance," she curtsied.

"Gaius Worzel, Eighth Dominion." He placed his hand over his heart. "I have heard much about you from Emma during our school days at Thors."

"Oh? Her former classmate?" Rose seemed the least bit surprised. "It seems to me that the two of you are certainly closer than that."

Gaius nodded. "That much is true. Emma has been one of my closest friends at Thors. We pretty much hit it off soon after we met, since we both were interested in the arts. A lot has happened since then during the school year, our field trips, and lastly, during the Erebonian Civil War. When I found out who she was, I tried my best to support her however I could." 

Emma felt a rush of affection for him. "Gaius..."

"I see. You have my deepest gratitude for looking out for my one and only grandchild. Nonetheless, it is a serious matter for a boy like you to gain her complete trust and affection. Moreover, we witches do not have the luxury to pursue a relationship with any man who would undermine our trust and duty as Sept Terrion guardians. So tell me, what are your intentions regarding my granddaughter?"

"My intentions? I'm not quite sure what you mean, Ms. Millstein-, I mean, Rose. We just haven't seen each other for some time, that's all."

"Oh, really~?" Thomas objected.

"I-instructor, please wait," Gaius pleaded.

"You should have seen him the first time we brought him to Arteria.~" Thomas told Emma. "This boy refused to eat for the first few weeks, cried himself to sleep for months on end, and could barely function without his winged companion by his side. It took him some time to confide in me about how lonely he felt and that you were the only person who would've understood what's he's been going through."

For the first time, Emma gazed at Gaius with unabashed affection. Meanwhile, Gaius gazed at the ground, feeling flustered for the first time. _So this is what my brother must have felt like when Sharl's father came to visit father..._

"In any case, since you were the first boy my granddaughter's ever introduced, surely _you've_ asked for her hand in marriage already? Rose asked inquisitively.

"With all due respect, Ms. Rose, I know that your granddaughter Emma is kind and compassionate person. She's extremely intelligent, beautiful and talented at what she does. To be frank, I don't think I'd be a suitable choice for her as a husband. I'm terribly sorry, but I don't think I'll ever be good enough-"

"You know that's not true at all!" Emma cried. "I know how determined, brave, perceptive and caring you are. Do you still remember when I fainted in Parm during our first field trip and you carried me to the White Footpath Inn? You could have left me in Fie's care after she returned with Machias and Jusis when I woke up, but you stayed in my room to take care of me. Would you really have done that if you didn't feel anything for me?!"

"I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I lost you," he admitted, trying to fight back his tears.

"I felt the same when the ILF attacked your homeland during our field trip there. I already knew from the start that you desperately wanted to protect us, so you tried sending us away, but you don't have to shoulder your burdens all by yourself. So please, let me stay by your side. I don't ever want you to feel alone."

"Emma..." Gaius responded, touched. "...Of course. I promise to be there for you. Always."

"I...I was scared you wouldn't say 'yes'. W-will you marry me, Gaius? Emma asked him truthfully.

Gaius, embarrassed, broke eye contact with Emma and stared at the ground. "Umm...but I haven't even asked your grandmother about your clan's traditions. Shouldn't we discuss this with your grandmother first? Speaking of which, where did Instr-Vice Chief and your grandmother go?"

Meanwhile, Thomas and Roselia had transported themselves to the upper aisle of the cathedral. "So, what do you think of entrusting your granddaughter to this boy~?"

Roselia giggled sightly. "He reminds me of a young man I've met long ago in the streets of Heimdallr. Men like that deserve more credit than they get, though I must say, he's just as stubborn as my Emma. If I hadn't confronted him, he would have left her in tears sooner or later, and I would have deal with that mess myself." She crossed her arms. "However, I'm not sure how your leader would take to this. After all, this has been the first time a situation like this has happened in the course of history."

Thomas smiled, shaking his head. "I suppose I'll have to vouch for him then, and beg my dear leader to allow for such a rare exception. Besides, it's been such a long time since I've attended a proper wedding. This should be a jolly good occasion!~"

"If she disapproves, I'll just have to convince her myself. I won't let anyone deprive me of my future grandson or seeing my own great grandchildren." Rose asserted. Sensing Emma's anxiousness from below, she transported her back to the front of the altar, where her granddaughter was waiting for her impatiently. Upon seeing Gaius, Rose nodded approvingly. "I heard that you Nordians have strange traditions when it comes to marriage proposals."

"In our culture, if a lady wishes to seek her lover's hand in marriage, she would bring her father to the lover's home. I've already introduced Emma to my family two years ago, but how would a marriage proposal work according your clan's customs, Ms. Rose?"

The Hexen Elder seemed amused at the thought. "Emma dear, maybe you should have told him about me before." She then continued. "Gaius, your willingness to enquire about our traditions demonstrates your respect and sincerity on this matter. You have my permission to marry her. Since the two of you have been quite preoccupied with personal matters, I don't see a necessity in prolonging this meeting any further."

"As do I," Thomas agreed as he exchanged glances with Rose. "Why don't the two of you go on a date tonight? It'll be a excellent opportunity to spend some quality time together. Oh, and don't forget to invite us to your future wedding! I'd like to request a front row seat.~"

"Grandmother, wait. What, then, was the point of choosing me as the main representative in the first place if you were going to cancel the meeting anyway?"

"I couldn't bear seeing you miserable for weeks, yearning for a second chance to confess your feelings to your best guy friend, who was as good as dead. Besides, I only figured out who he was when you reacted to the news that other time." Rose explained.

"I-I didn't think it was that obvious..." Emma muttered to herself sheepishly.

"Are you sure about this, Vice Chief? I won't deny that I'd love to spend some time with Emma, but it's not like I'm indifferent to the situation here in Erebonia, either."

"Gaius. There's no need to worry about that for now. Your grandmother-in-law and I will inform the two of you of the next meeting. With that said, the meeting is now adjourned."

"Shall we get going, then? Emma suggested to Gaius. "We can figure out where we're heading we're outside." She then spotted Celine napping beside an empty plate with fishbones. "Celine, the meeting's over. We can go now," Emma informed her.

Celine yawned. "It's over? Phew. Let's get out of here-I mean, I look forward to us working together," she stated. With a quick swish of her tail, Celine leapt towards the cathedral's door.

"Celine! There's no need to be rude," Emma chided her, running after her familiar.

"Excuse us then, Ms. Rose and Vice Chief. I'll be on my way." Gaius gave a curt nod and took his leave, leaving both Thomas and Roselia alone in the cathedral.

"I suppose that went fairly well, all things considered." Thomas observed. Both your granddaughter and my subordinate didn't have a sudden meltdown, so that's quite a good sign." He called up the shadows. "Rosine, you've arrived just in time. We're just about to start." A young nun with short blond hair and light blue eyes appeared out of the shadows and curtsied in front of them both.

Rose shook her head. "Some night this is going to be."


End file.
